Inspection Detail

Inspection: 312693435 - Toolworks

Inspection Information - Office: San Francisco District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 9:55 a.m. on May 29, 2012, Employee #1, a 50-year-old male construction laborer with Toolworks was working as a job coach located at a large motel on Fourth Street, San Francisco. Employee #1 was training a client to show him how to sort garbage in the basement dock area by the baler. The client needed a pallet; Employee #1 went to find one. Employee #1 found a stack of three or four wooden pallets with a "plexiglass" type (blue color) on top located at B2 dock area near Bay 11. He held onto the blue pallet that weighed approximately one-hundred pounds with both of his hands with gloves on. He proceeded to pull it backwards and away from the pile. The blue pallet fell off of the stack and landed on top of Employee #1's right hip and leg area. He called for help and a motel security officer and Employee #1's coordinator who were both nearby came to his aid. Emergency Medical Services were summoned and Employee #1 was taken to Kaiser Permanente. A CAT scan revealed a fracture in the right hip. Employee #1 was taken into surgery immediately where five-pins were inserted. The lead job coach, supervisor, security officer, and Employee #1 were interviewed during the course of the investigation. The employer was cited a general violation of 3203 (a) for not having an effective Injury and Illness Prevention Program. The employer did not train employees to manually move heavy pallets. This type of pallet weighs approximately 100 pounds which was heavier than the standard wooden pallet. In addition, the cause for the fall was not determined in their investigation.

Keywords: FRACTURE, FALL, PALLET, HIP